Tough Luck
by platypusquack
Summary: After escaping from her horrible home, Uffie sets off to a remote town called Rustleaf. However, Rustleaf is proving to be an odd, unsafe town, and Uffie must figure out a way to live there and help the town get better under the wretched mayor Tortimer. (This is my first fanfic, so it's probably not the best! ono)
1. Chapter 1

My name is Uffie. Weird name, whatever, not like I chose it. I'm 14 now. I ran away from home Yeah, sad, isn't it. Want to know why? My parents both went to a great college and met in law school. Their dreams for me? A high-level prosecutor. That's all they think I'm good for. Getting them my money from being a civil lawyer. Well, you know, what? Law is stupid.

I got all F's the last semester of last year. I just can't do the work. My mom and dad are just too lazy to get me some help; I'm clinically depressed. I just eat and get fat and play video games all effing day. I don't even care about getting yelled at at this point. I bring in the homework with wrong answers as I never even tried. Getting all F's this semester, my parents excelled to abuse. Hitting me. Slapping me with a leather belt. I have bruises. I have band-aids all over my body. The next day, they hit me again. They said they'd always do it, everyday, until I get straight A's. Like I could do that.

The third night I couldn't take it. I got all my money, stole some food and water and a large bag, and ran away. They're not even searching for me. I doubt they're even sad, and if they were, I wouldn't care at all. I wandered a lot, sleeping on a shady bench. Occasionally, nice people would let me sleep in their shop at night or nap in the daytime. I found myself much more active at night, sleeping throughout the day. Local libraries were really nice about that, they said it would be fine if I slept on one of the staff couches. I was doing fine, for a homeless teenager.

I checked my bag and saw that I had quite the lot of money, 150 dollars. Saved it up, I guess. I decided, if I could afford it, to buy a train ticket and leave this terrible place once and for all. Far away, my parents wouldn't be able to track me down and bring me back to their terrible place. I walked to the train station, luckily we had one in town.

The schedule was pretty bleak. I was looking for a place where it wasn't too busy. New York City, Philadelphia, Jersey City, et cetera. I just lived in Albany, New York, so I'd like to get out of the state. I found one town on the board, one I'd never heard of. Some place called Rustleaf? Never heard of it so I assume it's small. I went over to the ticket master.

"Uh, how much for a ticket to Rustleaf, sir?" I asked, trying to sound polite. He probably judged me for my gross sweater, ripped pants, and worn sneakers. I smiled the fakest smile I could've ever smiled. He flipped through a train schedule and blinked.

"Twenty dollars. The train will leave the station in twenty minutes. Would you like to buy a ticket?"

"...Do you accept cash?" he nodded. I sighed. "Yeah, I'll take a ticket." I fished through my bag to find my old wallet I got when I was six. It was the most portable thing I could keep my money in. I shuffled around my wallet, looking for a twenty looked like a fool as I added up the money while there was a huge line looming behind me, and handed it over. He counted it much faster than me. A ticket was printed and he handed it to me.

"Over there, on platform three, is the train. Thank you," I nodded and smiled. I gave a nice thank you and ran over to the platform. I handed my ticket to the conductor and fancied myself a seat.


	2. Chapter 2

There was only one other person there, as it was a small train, but that wasn't the weird part. That other passenger was…. a human-ish wolf? It made no sense. I sat diagonal to her, trying not to stare. She was reading. She perked up, and smiled. "Hey, how are you?" she asked.

"F-Fine, thanks. You?" I said, kind of flustered. She put a bookmark in her book and closed it. She tucked it in her bag.

"Great. Uh, I don't mean to be rude, but," she giggled. "Do you mind if we talk a bit? I don't want to bother you, and I won't be the slightest bit hurt if you denied." her smile was pointy and toothy, but what do you expect from a wolf? I smiled, too. She seemed really nice, and I don't mind talking to friends.

"Ah, no! I wouldn't mind at-at all. Just a little nervous, you see… I'm here alone. I've never been to Rustleaf before, so it's a little daunting."

"Oh, don't worry. My girlfriend lives there, and I go there all the time, it's a pretty nice place. ...I'm going to be honest, so I don't higher your expectations, but it isn't the prettiest of towns. The people there are mostly nice, with the excuse of a few crankies or snooties. My girlfriend can be a bit snappy at times, but it's not personal, so don't take it to heart if you meet her. Oh! Where are my manners? My name is Skye. Your's?"

"Uffie. I guess knowing that it's not a bad place is a bit reassuring. Thanks. It's good to feel less stressed," I grinned. She was so, so nice!

"You'll adjust. Though, you look young. Where are your parents? ...Oh! Gee, that was too touchy, I'm so sorry! Don't feel compelled to answer."

"...Yeah, um, we've just met and I'm not too comfortable telling my story. Sorry, please don't feel guilty,"

"No, no, it's okay." We both gasped as the train growled and took off. After adjusting to the fast pace, we continued our discussion.

"Mind if I tell you why I'm coming to Rustleaf? Just to keep this conversation going," I shook my head. "Thanks! Anyway, my girlfriend, Freya, has been struggling after her sister, Whitney, left town to go to find a job, as Rustleaf's spectrum isn't the greatest. She's been struggling to pay rent and get the basics, so I'm coming over to live with her. I lived in an apartment, so I didn't have to pack much. I'm hoping it'll make things easier for her."

"That's kind of you, Skye. Um...I bet you'll be able to make your girlfriend feel a lot better." she smiled at me. "S-Sorry if I'm being awkward, I was never good at being social-"

"You? Awkward? Haha! I'm the one being awkward. I'm so shy, aren't I? Never a good conversation starter, I was."

I smiled and laughed, but I never saw her as the slightest bit shy. She seemed so kind and caring, and the way she speaks is so soothing. We talked a lot, and finally steam roared and the train halted. We waved goodbye, even though I was sure we'd see each other again in Rustleaf.


	3. Chapter 3

The train halted. The doors whooshed open, and we both exited. Behind a desk was another human-like animal, this time a monkey. He glanced over at me, and continued to read a magazine. Skye waved off and I went to the monkey. His shirt said "Porter" in fancy script. "Hey, um, do you have any extra maps of this town?" he sighed. I was surprised at how rude he was; didn't Skye say Rustleaf was a nice place?

"Yes, of course we have extras, eek eek. Lemme just…." he put the magazine down and dug around in some drawers. He pulled out a slightly crumpled map, with some tears near the edges. "Here."

"Uh, do you have any others that aren't as beat-up?" I asked, trying to be polite. He ignored me and kept reading the magazine. I backed up and walked out through the station door.

It was a gentle autumn afternoon. The leaves on the trees were actually rust-colored, which is funny. Maybe the town was named after it's unique hues of the fall. I tried to decipher my map, but with all the rips and crumples, it was hard. I looked at all the residents; Freya, Apollo, Static, Daisy, Genji, Diana, Phoebe, Colton, and Rosie. While the others were neatly typed on a computer, there was "Skye" in sharpie marker added at the end, in sloppy handwriting. I guess since she was new, they didn't want to print a whole new map. They had portraits next to every villager (except Skye, of course). I saw Freya was a beautiful, light pink wolf. I could see Skye's interest in her. I saw on the map some other buildings; a cafe, the town hall, a police station, and the train station. A star was marked on the map to show the entrance to Main Street. I figured it'd be best to go to the Town Hall first and introduce myself to the mayor. Depending on how expensive the costs of living are here, I might stay in Rustleaf for a while.

I walked toward the Town Hall when I saw a dog. No, not a regular dog, another person-animal (for lack of a better name). She was puffing on a cigarette. "Kid," she said as she held the cigarette in her paw. "Why are you here?" I looked at her.

"Ran away from home. Now I'm here. Who are you?" I asked, totally ignoring the fact that I was taught not to talk to strangers. My life's at such a low, what could be the worst that happens?

"Isabelle. Mayor Tortimer's secretary. Living in dusty old Rustleaf since a pup. Now, here are _my_ questions. What made you think that Rustleaf could be your little sanctum after you ran away from home?"

"I didn't want my parents finding me. A ticket here was only twenty bucks at the train station. It seemed far away enough my parents would give up. It sounded like a small town. I'm here now. Is it legal to sleep on benches here?"

"Are the police looking for you? If so, you better get outta here. It's not a big enough town to hide in. But, if not, I'm not letting a kid like you sleep on benches. It's getting cold. Come with me," she said, looking worried. She wasn't one of the more selfish people that lived here.

She took my hand in her paw and put the cigarette back in her mouth. I covered my nose and mouth with my sweater. She looked at me doing that. "I don't mind. I know smoking's basically long-term suicide, but I'm addicted. Can't stop. Always cover your face when I'm puffing smoke out of a stick, really," now I was the one feeling bad for her. I learned how terrible smoking was in school, but I guess she didn't care. Maybe she was offered one and succumbed to peer pressure. I was at no stage of friendship that I could ask her that, though. Me and my theories, I guess. We walked to the Town Hall.

An old turtle sat behind a desk with piles of papers around him. The front desk has a reasonable amount of forms and worksheets as well. "Hey, Mayor, we got a runaway here. Can sh-"

"Aw, great, a stupid kid comes around to clutter up my piece of garbage town. Give her a free house, free Bells, get her everything she fucking wants, OH, throw this shitty stupid town away for this little runaway bitch! Yes!" he shouted. I looked at Isabelle's face, and it was teeming with anger.

"I didn't mean that, Mayor. I didn't mean that at. All," she snapped back. Tortimer flung himself out of his chair.

"Oh. Oh, I see. Yeah, I see real well alright! Sorry, sorry, sorry, SORRY. Will you EVER fucking forgive this old man? Will you?" he was being really passive-aggressive right now. "Alright, little girl. Who do you respect most? The president, king, mayor, or governor? Well?" I was really scared. I didn't know how to answer. If I said anything but mayor, he'd yell. If I said mayor, what if he twisted it to insult me? Luckily, Isabelle chimed in.

"Don't ask her garbage like that," her voice boomed, like in a coliseum. He opened his mouth to scream at her, but I quickly intervened.

"The mayor," I quivered. "I respect the mayor the most." I saw Isabelle cringe as I said that, and I froze up.

"If you respect the motherfucking mayor, then you sit down and do my work. If you respect the motherfucking mayor." He was walking toward me now. I was really scared. Isabelle jumped in front of me.

"I didn't come here for you to hit the child! I just have one, simple question! Calm..calm down, idiot!" Isabelle roared. I could hear a slight growl from her. "My question is if she can sleep in the town hall with me until we get her sorted out! That is my question, Mayor!" her breathing was deep and shallow.

"Huff. She can't enter this building if even just my cane is here. Can she stay at night? Yes. When can she leave? Six a.m. Can she stay now? NO. Can she stay in the daytime? NO. Now get her out! Get!" he raised his cane and Isabelle grabbed my hand and we ran out of the hall. She took me to the cafe to discuss things. I was a bit afraid. My expectations for this town were much, much higher.


	4. Chapter 4

"Hey, Brewster. The usual, please," Isabelle squawked as we entered the cafe. There was a barista behind the counter, whom I believed was another humanoid animal, I think a pigeon. He nodded at Isabelle, then looked at me.

"Coo, anything for the little girl?" He proceeded to get a mug and pour some coffee in it. He added two cubes of sugar and a little bit of milk. Isabelle got up the the stool, and I sat next to her. She looked at me, as if to ask, "Coffee?" I shook my head. She smiled at Brewster and handed him two golden coins with a star on them. They each said "100 Bells." I've never heard of "Bells" as a currency. Hopefully there's a converter somewhere. "Coo...thank you." He picked up a saucer and started washing it. "...Who is the child?"

"A young runaway named Uffie. Tortimer said she could stay at night, though not in the day," Isabelle responded, sounding grim.

"I assume he gave her the respect test, coo? How did she answer...?" Brewster responded. He picked up a cup and scrubbed it. Isabelle held her cup in her paws and blew at the steam. She took a sip.

"Mayor. Luckily he wasn't as dedicated to it as he was to me. She's no secretary."

"That's good….Does she have any money?"

"I don't know. I'm not asking for her to buy a house. Winter's approaching, and I need a place for her to stay in the day. Tortimer said she could stay in Town Hall whenever he's not there. Considering his stubbornness, I'm sure he'll stay twenty-four hours one day."

"True…. I suppose she cou-"

"Wait. You're talking like I'm not sitting right here. I am sitting right. Here. Can someone please explain this stupid town to me before you babble on? This is ridiculous!" I snapped. But, really, you're reading their conversation. It's as if I'm five miles away.

"Alright. Okay. So, this barista is Brewster. We're close, we were good friends when Tortimer first took stand as mayor. He was old, and he was senile. He was angry and confused. And that made a mark on our peaceful little town of Rustleaf. The costs of living inflated greatly. Tortimer brought in an "old friend," Tom Nook, to be our new landlord. He also brought his nephews, Timmy and Tommy, to run a shop. The old landlord and the old shopkeepers had to leave. They left town, angrily. Tom Nook's rent cost is insane, and Timmy and Tommy sell barely anything-two pieces of furniture, two tools, one pack of stationary, and one pack of medicine. Our old shopkeeper sold so many items a day. Now, our economy is crumbling. And the cost of tax is over the roof. If you live alone, you're in trouble. Most people live here in pairs; Apollo and Static, Rosie and Phoebe, Colton and Diana, you know. In fact everyone here lives in doubles except Freya. When Whitney moved out, she-"

"Coo...but you digress. The point is...that we want you to be safe. Answering Tortimer's question like that could've put you in a position like Isabelle, coo….A secretary for a crazed turtle…" Brewster muttered, fixing up a coffee for himself. I looked at Isabelle. That's why she's the secretary? Oh, God. "...Anyway, Isabelle, Blathers, Sable, Mabel, Label, and I all have a plan to keep everyone safe from Tortimer. Blathers worked at the museum at Main Street. He got a great profit from it. However, Tortimer refused to fund it, and it was shut down. All the bugs, fish, fossils, and art were sold to merchants across the world. The only thing that remained was the building. Now, he has to accept generous donations…. at no pay. Sable, Mabel, and Label worked at Able Sisters at Main Street, coo. They worked together for years. However, Tortimer wouldn't let Label work there…. for no reason. Label had to move away, and she went to a far off city. Years later, she came back to Rustleaf secretly and Tortimer never even cared. He had no motive from the start. Since then, Sable was traumatized. While Label was gone, Sable and Mabel's parents died…. She connects it to Label leaving, which was connected to Tortimer, so she never leaves the Able Sisters shop to escape Tortimer. All of us want and need to keep newcomers safe and aware, coo…."

The door jingled as a robust owl came in. His eyes were terribly weary. "Hey, Brewster. Coffee please, 3 cubes of sugar. I need the energy," he wobbled in a jumped on a stool. "Hey, Isabelle. Hey...you? Who are you, hoo hoo?" He said. Brewster slid the coffee down the counter and Brewster caught it with his wing.

"My name's Uffie. I met a light blue wolf who's dating a pink one. I came here as a runaway. I talked to a smoking dog. I almost became a secretary. I got coffee from a pigeon. I'm telling my life story to an owl. All in the span of an hour or so," I said, pretty annoyed. I should've gone to New York City.

"..I hate to bother you, Uffie, but that's life…" Brewster said, irritated. I rolled my eyes. Life? Life is meeting humanoid animals? Life is running away from your effing family? Life is moving into an effed up town? How does that even make sense? Well bust my luck I got here. Why didn't I choose Jersey City or Philadelphia or some other busy, fat city with effing humans and rational mayors and….sorry for my profanity.

Blathers left, his eyelids struggling to keep up. "I'm a night owl, not an early riser…why should I even bother staying up in a dusty, old, empty museum anyway?" He looked back. "Have fun, kid, living in a world of no mercy." I swiveled around my stool and looked at him, mouth dropping open just a bit.

"What an interruption. Anyway, Brewster, the point is, can Uffie stay here during the day? I don't want her to deal with Nook. She's safest here. Tortimer hates coffee." Isabelle said, sipping her drink. She eyed her pack of cigarettes, then the clear "no smoking" sign on the wall. I feel so, so bad for her.

"Coo...but he might drop by, just because of her…" he gave a deep, avian sigh. "She's safest renting a house."

Isabelle slammed her cup on the counter, spurting some coffee on her paw. "No. For the last time, I will _not_ let her deal with Nook's freakish antics!" she looked at the counter and the blackish stain on it. She looked at Brewster, straight in the eyes, and looked at me, her stare softening up. "I won't let her deal with him….but Brewster, you're one hundred percent right. He will visit every public area without question, harassing her. In her own home, it'd be illegal without permission….there are some laws even the mayor can't bend."

"I see no other way. It seems logical, I guess. Where's this 'Tom Nook' guy? Main Street?" I ask, eyeing Isabelle, knowing there's a pang of worry in my stare.

"He works with an annoying otter named Lyle. Don't make eye contact with him, he's a bit….well…. I don't know how to say it. At Main Street, yes." Isabelle responded. "You _sure_ you want to do this?" Brewster noded at Isabelle, trying to give her hope. I was honestly really, really worried. All the fuss about getting a house? What happens if I look at this "Lyle" person? And Tom Nook being all...shady, for lack of a better word? Ugh...I'm even questioning myself at this point. But, I mean, I'm safe from Tortimer. I guess it's better?

"Isabelle, why can't I speak or look or whatever to Lyle? What'll happen?" I

ask, dubiously.

"He's too unknown to us. No one knows what will actually happen. He's new to Rustleaf. Only Nook knows about him. We aren't very welcome of newcomers who are associating with Nook, or Tortimer, or people like that. Just don't look, talk, wave, shake hands, et cetera. Okay?" she took another sip of her drink.

"O...Okay. I'm gonna go, then. Bye."

I walk out of the cafe, looking back, worrying.


	5. Chapter 5

The cold air of fall nips me like a jellyfish sting. The wind makes it no better. Neat, stone paths line the areas to each place in town, including houses or fountains and the like. Orangey grass crawls up through the cracks in the paved rock. I notice many peach trees decorating the town, even perfect, yellowish ones. I was tempted to shake a tree down for a nice, juicy snack, but I had other things to do.

If you were in this town, you'd just see a monochrome, dull rust color. Life seemed like it was not prevalent in this town. The skies were cloudy, shrouding the sun's bright white light. It was as if inches and inches of snow would just suddenly pour down on the ground.

My feet were cold on the gravel. My sneakers weren't so durable anymore. I strolled across the path, looking around me. Orange, yellow, red, white, black flowers lined the grass. Most were roses, a few carnations, quite the bunch of cosmos, scattered tulips. There were some lilies here and there. I plucked an orange lily from the ground. It was a lone flower, so I figured no one would notice. Anyway, I picked off the stem and ornamented my hair with it. The pale, warm color looked nice on my brown hair. I continued to walk along the pavement. There was a beautiful wisteria trellis at one point, vines hanging over my head. There were some fountains, regular ones and statued ones, cute metal benches, wood bridges. It was a quaint town. I liked it, aside the weirdo mayors and crazy landlords. And whatever lunatic that lives here. I think this town would be better if Isabelle was the mayor. She's sane, and she probably does more work than Tortimer anyway. I looked around, watching the villagers get along with their lives. Running around, watering flowers, or lounging around on a bench. They didn't seem to notice me, or want to notice me. I wasn't particular to noticing them, so I walked along. A swerving path through a bamboo field brought me to the train station. I took a right and crossed over the train tracks to Main Street.

I...I can't really describe the atmosphere, but the word that comes to mind is "dusty." It was terribly kept. Dead grass pushed itself out of the cracks in the path. The stores weren't that spectacular. Nookling Junction (which I assumed was Timmy and Tommy's shop), Able Sisters (Mabel and Sable's shop? Label, too? Wonder what they sold), some place called Shampoodle's (a pair of illustrated scissors under the name; salon? Paper cutting shop? Hardware store?), a store called Kicks' (shoes in the windows and huge shoe and sock decals on the front: must be a shoe store), the museum, the post office (wonder who works there?), Nook's Homes (Tom Nook…?), Club LOL (what?), the Dream Suite (I should check that out), and the Fortune Teller Shop (ooh!). Oh, and a photo booth. I guess I needed to visit Nook's Homes first, yeah? With all this stress, though, I needed to relax. On my map, there was a bench on the west side of the street, I saw, so I figured it be a good place to sit. It was overlooking the cliff into the ocean, which would be really nice. I stumbled over to the bench to find my excitement shift to disappointment. The bench was just planks of wood. Must've broke in a storm. I sighed and went over back to Nook's Homes. The door creaked open and a bell jingled.

"Welcome, welcome! Take a look inside! Yes, yes!" a raccoon, Nook I guess, said enthusiastically. I glanced at the otter behind a desk, Lyle, but quickly looked away. His stare was...well...creepy. "You are new, yes? Wonderful, wonderful! You would like a house, yes?"

"Um...yeah. Just somewhere around…" I pulled out my map and pointed close to Skye's new house. "...there. Around that house. Is that good?" I inquired, trying to keep the conversation brief. He bent over to observe my map further. He slowly nodded.

"Yes, yes, near here would do. So the down payment would be….10,000 bells."

 _What?_ I don't have a _single_ bell! "There's got to be a currency converter here, right?" I've got 130 dollars and not one bell, I mean, what kind of town has 'bells' as a currency? Ring ding jingly jing?"

"...In the post office, yes. Speak to Pelly for further information. Goodbye! Off with you, now," he motioned with his ha-...paws for me to get out. I glared at him and slowly turned the doorknob to leave.

It looked overcast. It might rain today or tomorrow. Probably the last rain of the season, honestly. It snows a lot near here, I guess. I mean, it snowed a lot in my hometown. This is nearby?

I went to the post office. It was really, really small on the outside. Grayish light spilled into the dim room as I opened the door. A sad-looking pelican stood behind a counter. It was even smaller on the inside. Just a wall-to-wall counter and an ATM, not even a chair. A small, red rug ornamented the wood panel floors. There was a door behind the counter that probably lead to some super mail processing room. I walked up to the pelican.

"Erm, hello. My name is Uffie, I moved here just today. I bought a house, and for the down pay-oh, what am I saying. Do you have a currency converter anywhere? USD to...to...BLL?" I inquired, guessing the abbreviation for bells.

"Welcome to Rustleaf," she said unenthusiastically. "Though, it isn't that much of a nice town. You should already know that by now, right? Haha…" she gave a sulky smile. I didn't even know birds _could_ smile. She was a pretty white pelican with a cute purplish pink blouse on. "We do have a currency converter, but the abbreviation for bells is BEL. Simple as that." she smiled again, really nicely. "Can you hand me your USD?" I frantically nodded and fished around my bag for my wallet. 130 dollars, two twenty bills, two fifties, one ten. I handed them over to her. She went into the "super mail processing room" and, after maybe a minute or two, she came out with a small sack full of bells. It was tied in a red ribbon with a brown star on it. The color of the burlap was goldenrod. Is this what people use for wallets here?

"Here you go, miss. 130 USD converts to 13,000 BLL," she shoved the sack closer to me and I grabbed it. I gleamed. That's already enough to pay off the loan!

"Th-thank you so much!" I scurried off and the bell on the door jingled as I slammed the door behind me. I rushed into Tom Nook's shack and gathered myself up.

"H-hi, uh, I have t-ten thousand bells," I could feel the otter staring at me. Hands shaking, I uttered, "f-f-for the down payment…"

"...Yes, yes! YES! YES, HAND IT OVER, PLEASE," his tone was not comforting. He made grabby-hands (paws?) and I forked the bag over. I forgot to take out the extra 300 bells. _Shit._

He counted all the bells and grinned when he saw the extra 300. He threw the sack away and murmured, "Mmm….your house will be ready tomorrow, yes yes. What color roof do you desire? Green, yellow, red, or blue?"

Is this another trick question? Stammering, I mumbled, "Y-yellow, please..."

"Mmmmm, yes yes! Hurry on now!" he shooed me away and I scuttled off to the cafe to tell Isabelle.

The same dreary landscape greeted me as Main Street loomed behind me. I took out my rather useless map to see where I needed to go. I took winding paths, through bamboo fields and cedar trees, and I was upon the cafe door.

"Isabelle! I payed off the-" I shouted as I barged in. But my mouth slammed shut as I saw who was there.

Tortimer.

 _Shit_.


	6. Chapter 6

"Hey, girlie," Tortimer croaked. Isabelle wasn't here anymore. Tortimer WAS camping out here to stop be from staying."What did you pay off?" His tone was...emotionless. But I knew it was really a trap. I can't lie to him, Should I tell him a wanted a house?

"Um, I saw a really cute lantern at Nookling Junction, but I didn't have enough money, s-so I sold some of the stuff I had to them and paid off the lantern," I did see a lantern in the window of Nookling's, so it's not like I'm lying about that.

"Eh, can I see it?"

"I, er, gave it to Skye as a welcome gift. I thought she'd like it. She did."

"Maybe I'll visit her later to take a look."

I gulped. Now I had to find the money to buy that lantern and give it to Skye.

Come to think of it, I haven't seen Skye since I got off the train. Nor any of the other villagers. Maybe they're hiding.

Wait.

 _In her own home, it'd be illegal without her permission._ Isabelle had said that to support Brewster's idea of me getting a house. It must be the same for Skye. I sighed in relief.

Tortimer hopped off his chair and gulped, "Bye bye, whippersnapper." He stumbled out of the door.

I hopped onto the seat and inquired to Brewster, "That thing Isabelle said, about Tortimer not being allowed to go into other people's houses unless the owner lets him, um...does that apply to every resident?"

"Coo...yes. I'm positive no one in this town would let him enter their homes," Brewster answered, washing a coffee cup by hand. Thank God. "Coffee?"

"Oh, no, I don't have any money. Sorry…" I shuffled nervously in my stool.

"Don't worry, coo. It's on the house."

"Are you s-sure?"

"Yes,"

"Can I have an espresso to go, then?"

"Coo."

He started preparing his espresso maker and a to-go cup. He poured the newly brewed coffee into the paper cup and handed it to me.

"Thank you," I murmured. I hopped off my seat and stumbled out the door.

"Coo…Have a nice day."

I was about to step out the door when I turned around to ask Brewster one last question. "Isabelle said that this economy is fucked up, but I paid off a rent for just 130 bucks. Where I lived houses were hundreds of thousands of dollars. How is this rent high?"

Not looking at me, he responded, "It's impossible to _get_ money here."

Wow. The air was even colder now and the winds were even faster. I couldn't stop shivering. Should I go back to the cafe? I don't have my house yet. That's the only option. First, though, I needed to get Isabelle.

I sprinted on the winding paths and tripped over tree roots. I couldn't find her and I was _not_ going into the Town Hall. I started to become nervous. The tip of my nose felt like an icicle. I tripped over the root of a tall peach tree. Tears welled in my eyes. I've only been searching for 20 minutes or so, but it's cold here, it's cruel here, it's scary here. I don't like it here, not at all.

"Hey...are you okay, sparky?" A brilliant yellow and orange red antro ostrich stood over me. She had spotted wings, the base being a muted purple and the spots being that same yellow. She wore a black shirt with a large flame on it. To my surprise, she looked genuinely concerned. "Need a hand? A wing, rather." She smiled. She reached out her wing and I grabbed it, hoisting myself up. I assumed I could trust her. I mean, I don't think any villager in this town would prefer Tortimer. "I've never seen you before. The name's Phoebe. You?"

"Uh, Uffie…" I blushed and shied away from her gaze.

"Uffie, huh? Nice name! ...Ya know, it's cold out, why don't you go to your house?"

"Um...I...I don't have a house...yet...tomorrow I will, but not...now…" my blush intensified. I turned my head away.

"It's okay, sparky. Look, dude, it's freezing out. Pretty irregular for a late September day. You can't stay outside like this. Lemme take you to my house," she whispered in my ear, "Tortimer won't be able to get you there. Believe me, everyone here won't let ol' Tortimer into their homes. Especially Freya."

She set off and I followed her. We came to a red, brilliant house.

"I live with a nice gal named Rosie. Hope you're sociable," she giggled.

To be honest, I don't care if I was the least sociable person on the planet. I am not being outside with Tortimer.


End file.
